Ao no Kiseki (Part 1)

Not understanding a word of Japanese has never stopped me from playing any games in that language: Final Fantasy Type 0 and X2 immediately comes to mind, oh, I think Natural Doctrine too. There are just so many resources online these days I can always follow walkthroughs on YouTube or Google Translate ones in Japanese (but only when needed). 

So having got a little stuck in/at the beginning ... those side quests are very difficult to do if you didn't know where to go and who to speak to (that's why I'd put it down for more than a year) I've returned to Ao no Kiseki (Trails of Azure), the Evolution edition, and now TOTALLY into it. And that is despite the fact I'm kinda playing this series backwards. Ao came before Sen no Kiseki, though story-wise, the timelines of the two arcs are more or less the same. So you have characters appearing in both that are connected and spoilers everywhere (cos I already played the sequel in practice). But I don't really mind. With so much information on the Internet, I get spoiled left, right and centre anyway.

Ao is quite challenging in that it has a battle system that is slightly different from Sen and I don't get to buff/debuff as much (maybe I am still too early in the game). Have just unlocked a dungeon, which looks more difficult than all the ones before ... the fact I need to protect a NPC all the while makes it even more challenging. And that's what makes this game so gripping...

Games that didn't Make the Cut

Boo-hoo to these titles I bought but weren't that great: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, Civilization Revolution 2, and  Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (which I surmise is for teenagers). One good thing about buying the physical copy is that I can always resell it so it's not a 100% loss (except for Virtue's Last Reward, which I downloaded digitally).

So onward and forward with Ao no Kiseki, which I shall trudge through slowly. Here is another track that I love... honestly sooooooo 1970s!

The Legend of Heroes Series

So I'm getting myself re-addicted to this series >.<! 

Having (almost) finished Sen no Kiseki II (am going through the very last dungeon before the game pushes me into second playthru) I decided to pick up where I left off with Ao no Kiseki, another "arc" of the LoH series. Apparently all these different arcs intertwine with one another as each takes place in a different country/city, but within the same region... so:

Kingdom of Liberl (setting for the first arc)
Crossbell State (setting for the second arc)
Empire of Erebonia (setting for the third arc)
Republic of Calvard (setting for the upcoming fourth arc)
Principality of Remiferia (also in western Zemuria, beautiful scenery and the leaders in medical research and technology)
North Ambria (aka, that place with all the salt)
Ored (don't forget us!)
Leman State (central Zemuria, home of the Bracers Guild and the Epstein Foundation)
Holy Nation of Arterla (central Zemuria, headquarters of the Septian Church)

(sources: Guruda in the gamefaqs Trails of Cold Steel forum) 

The story so far... 

So Ao and SnK overlap one another because they are set within more or less the same timeline. In fact, after the main game of SnKII, there is a "side chapter" in which Lloyd (from Zero and Ao, the Crossbell arc) literally crosses paths with Rean (from SnK, the Erebonia arc). Ao does take the whole story/narrative further as by the end of that arc, Crossbell regains its independence (SnK ends with the Empire of Erebonia forcibly taking over Crossbell). It is a bit confusing only because Zero and Ao were released BEFORE SnK as games ... so the latest releases actually go backward in time (if you see what I mean). Perhaps the Calvard arc will now move the story forward again (i.e. starting from end of Ao, not SnK, timeline wise)...

Another fav track... 70s groove!

    

Sen no Kiseki II ... End Credit

I know it's only a game but the (sad) ending of SnK II - The Legend of Heroes - Trails of Cold Steel as it is now officially called after its English release - got me a bit teary. This is the credit roll after the main game and before two post-game chapters, and the song kinda suits the mood. I'm actually amazed I managed to beat the game on "hard mode". The final battle - made up of three fights - was pretty epic. The first one was a little bit of an anti-climax though, cos my heavy-hitting unit, Milliam, practically OHKO the boss' first form (I was, like, What?!) The following fight was brilliant as it took a lot of strategising - buffing and debuffing - before I beat its second form. The third fight I kinda cheated as I checked out a guide LOL ...

I wish this game doesn't drag on though ... the third instalment is now in the making and the Japanese (and hopefully the Chinese) version will probably be released in a year's time. It has one of the most sprawling story/ plot lines, revolving around the politics of various kingdoms/ regions as well as rivalries between gods and secret societies. And SnK II feels like just the beginning of a very, very long saga. It fact, SnK II's story actually crosses over with Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki Evolution , the latter I started awhile ago but got stuck in the middle because it's in Japanese. Which is a shame cos I've heard it is a very good game too. More challenging apparently. And I'm actually playing the post-game chapter now that is linked to its protagonist Lloyd Bannings. I might give it another go, if I haven't deleted the game already ... 

Sen no Kiseki II -- Continues...

Having run out of games to play (decided not to start the new Digimon title yet) I've returned to Sen no Kiseki II, which I stopped playing a year ago (needed a break from the series after spending hours on Part I) when I got stuck with those Phantom Beasts. The whole Sen no series - Legends of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - has now been localised and will be released in the West this month so I thought I'd get back into it. It's surprising to see (looking at the way I customised/set up my team) how bad I was at this game!! Like, what was I doing? I barely used buffing skills (which is a must in this game) and didn't use the recipes to cook up buff/ debuff items. No wonder I got stuck...

Well, one year and many other (J)RPG titles later, I think I've become a lot better with these games (the way I played Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core all those years ago was shocking, I didn't even know how to use items!) so when I attempted those Phantom Beast battles again, I managed to beat them all and got myself some nice "arts quartz" (which unlock some really useful special skills). So I'm now cruising along with the saga (this game is SO LONG compared with, like, Hyperdimension)... and am currently tackling the elemental caves/ dungeons, which is quite challenging (since I am on "hard" mode... I think "nightmare" is for die-hard fans only). But at least I now have characters that can evade and dodge, which makes some battle so much more manageable...

In the meantime, I'll probably get back to Persona 4 Dancing All Night later (this game is not as great as Persona 4 the Golden) and start the Digimon game (which has been getting some raving reviews) when I am done with Sen no Kiseki II (it is another turn-based JRPG)... there are just not that many good titles out there. Corpse Party: Blood Drive was fun (and the special edition is now available in my local store, which is too late!) but Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (which I downloaded using my UK PSN account and received so many rave reviews) was disappointing. 

2016 doesn't look too promising either, with only Danganronpa 3 worth the anticipation. I doubt it will be localised next year though. 

Meanwhile, the BlackBerry Priv received a firmware upgrade yesterday so I, well, upgraded my Priv (which I LOVE!) but the irony was that when I switched it off and turned it on again later, I ran into an boot up error!!! No idea what that was ... luckily I got it to work again so no big drama. Still, am a little weary of these upgrades!! With the Priv, I have stopped carrying so many phones ... eventually I really should just using the BlackBerry. Since there isn't much re-sell value for Aka/ Z/ Nokia 8310 and the JPhone, I might as well just store them away. Of the three sim cards, I use one for Priv/ Aka and then the "free" one for my PS Vita. 

I also recently bought the Gotway MCM4 ... which is SO HARD to ride!!! Must keep practising until I can balance on the one wheel. Then I can join the circus ... LOL...

An Unusual Kinda Party

I stumbled across this curious title - Corpse Party - when looking at forum threads on good VN (visual novel) hybrid games on the PS Vita people are playing out there at the moment. This popped up but I couldn't find it on PSN/Asia (or in local stores). It turns out the localised version of this game is only released in the US/ Europe so it's with a stroke of luck that I should have a PSN/ Europe account too. So I switched my Vita over and downloaded Corpse Party - Blood Drive (the latest and last in what is known as the "Heavenly Host Elementary" series in the franchise) meaning I am now not able to play all my games downloaded from the Asian account (Persona 4 Dancing All Night turns out to be not that addictive, Uncharted Fight for Fortune is great but I need a break from it, and am now waiting for the third instalment of Dangan Ronpa). 

Anyway, back to Corpse Party BD, which despite its name, is actually quite an engaging game. And I have not regretted switching my Vita over to the UK account for it. It's primarily a VN, i.e. lots and lots of dialogue, with quite a bit of "dungeon crawling". When I say dungeon crawling, it's not like in RPGs where you have to kill monsters and stuff. Rather, you are confined in this alternative dimension - this haunted Heavenly Host Elementary School, the playground of serial killings - and you have to look for various items while running away from evil spirits (this part of the game I find a bit dull). Unlike in Dangan Ronpa, which kinda guides you around while keeping things interesting, in BD you can running the place (and it's not small) endlessly and aimlessly, in the dark, without knowing exactly where you are supposed to go next. I know this is probably the point but it's just not what I would consider good gameplay. So thank goodness for YouTube walkthroughs, which I think you need for various chapters.

But the story sure is interesting and engaging. This family (bloodline) of psychics having the ability to seek out a powerful magic item (Book of Shadows) that was created by ancient witches. Falls in the wrong hands and it's, well, the end of the world. I know, bit cliche and predictable but the story is laced with some fun characters and humour, and has enough twists and turns that keeps players interested. Oh, and I actually love the cute Chibi-style presentation in a horror tale! I'm now in Chapter 9 nearing the end but will play those extra chapters first (back stories) before progressing in the main story. Will see if there are other Europe/US-exclusive titles worth downloading too...

Meanwhile I have managed to get my hands on the Blackberry Priv. Not as flashy as, say, the Samsung Edge but with my brief hands-on experience using it, what a powerful workhorse! Will sure be upgrading to it (the Classic is driving me crazy!!!)

Blackberry Priv

(I quite like that music...)

Oh yes, I have been drooling over this for more than a week now. But when oh when oh when will it be released here in Hong Kong? As a long-time BB user, I was terribly let down by its "Classic", the user interface (and everything else) is SO counter-intuitive that, seriously, I almost threw it out of the window a couple of months ago. The only reason why I stopped was cos I feared it might hit someone on the head on the street. 

I missed the "Bold" terribly. It has to be one of their best model, ever. There was a time when placing a call (oh yes, as simple as that) meant thumbing the numbers in and press the call button. Now I have to actually get to the dialing screen first (how utterly stupid is this) before I can thumb in the number ... of course, by which time I just want to thumb the bloody phone to death. While I am at it, I used to be able to set the phone to sleep (10pm) and wake up with an alarm (6.10am) automatically. Can't do that now. I have to turn the stupid phone to "Bedside Mode" the night before first so the alarm will go off automatically the following morning. Not only do I find saying "Bedside Mode" every time before I go to bed extremely stupid (Blackberry, I hope you are listening since I Hate You So Much Right Now), when plugged into a power source, it just doesn't work. "Bedside Mode", I command, and the phone will SEARCH the term on the Internet. Oh, you f***ing idiotic phone!!! I don't want you to search it online, just f***ing go to Bedside f***ing Mode already. Yes, that was when I almost threw the phone out of the window, with the charger in tow. 

Need to calm self down with a quick yoga practice...

Sadly, because of this lingering swelling in my right knee, I have been off the mat lately. But today I will take too simple classes so to ease me back to my regular practice. Will hope to get back to teaching next week ... but I have a feeling I won't be going back to the theatre studio ... it is so hard to teach a bunch who is so diverse in experience and level. We'll see...

Game-wise, have started playing Persona 4 Dancing All Night, which is a little underwhelming. It's a rhythm game but I don't think the gameplay is very rhythmic. Have also re-discovered Uncharted: Fight For Fortune, a fantastic card game that I didn't quite get the first time round but am having some success this time around. There was only one boss that was close to impossible but was still able to beat him. Hurrah!